Ethnomycology
Sveta Yamin‐pasternak, Igor Pasternak
The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology September 5, 2018 DOI: 10.1002/9781118924396.wbiea2088 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 5 |
| Key points | Argues that ethnomycology is an inherently multidisciplinary field with early ties to cultural anthropology through exchanges between Claude Lévi‐Strauss and R. Gordon Wasson, and that subsequent research has unearthed a great variety of ideas about human–fungi engagements. |
Abstract
Ethnomycology is concerned with the roles of fungi in the human social experience. An inherently multidisciplinary field, it reaches into myriad cultural domains and crosses interests in the humanities, fine arts, and social and natural sciences. Ethnomycology's early ties to cultural anthropology are in great part connected to the history of exchanges, from the 1950s to the 1980s, between Claude Lévi‐Strauss and R. Gordon Wasson. Since then, the growing body of research on the behaviors, uses, cultural transitions, and social relationships related to fungi has unearthed a great variety of ideas pertaining to human–fungi engagements.